The mind of a healthy body ‘ healthy is one of the most popular Latin phrases, dating from between the 1st and 2nd centuries BC. C., when a high value was given to the intellectual, spiritual and also athletic formation of the individual. In the late 19th century it was used to popularize modern gymnastics, booming for its benefits for the body and mind. During the seven-week lockdown for the COVID-19 pandemic, this phrase became more topical than ever.
Because it was then that we valued the benefits of sport, trying to “run” down the narrow hallway at home – stairs for the luckiest – or following cardio or yoga classes live on Instagram. 80% of those surveyed for an ASICS Research study stated that being active during confinement made them feel healthier physically and, above all, mentally, because it helped them control their emotions and keep their minds clear.
“To my patients with depression, I give them homework to go out and play sports.” Isabel Larraburu, Clinical Psychologist
And according to a report by the Ipsos consultancy after the de-escalation, the will among the majority of those surveyed (87%) was to place sport in a prominent place in their lives forever. Physiological benefits aside (reduction of the risk of suffering from cardiovascular diseases, colon cancer, diabetes, being overweight …), physical activity heals our “soul”.
Improves mood, reduces stress, anxiety, depression and increases self-esteem. It encourages sociability and contributes to the development and school performance of children, according to the Ministry of Health. Isabel Larraburu, who has spent 35 years consulting as a clinical psychologist, puts her patients with depression on duty to go out and play sports. ”After a few days, they come and tell me: ‘I am happier and more energetic, less than bassoon’. It’s logical, sport mobilizes our positive chemistry ”, he adds.
Larraburu’s virtual practice is more crowded than ever these days. The pandemic is causing an increase in demand for mental health services. Isolation, loss of income, mourning or uncertainty aggravate or generate more disorders, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The world needs to disconnect to reconnect, to rise, to renew itself. More or less as a desolate Japan needed after World War II. And then Mr. Kihachiro Onitsuka started making sports shoes.
And so, by moving minds in addition to skeletons, was how the founder of ASICS proved among his clients that sport had the ability to bring hope and lift spirits. Seventy-two years later, the sports shoe brand wants to move minds once again through research and innovation: in 2021 it will undertake a historical study on the positive impact of sport on the mental well-being of thousands of participants around the world. .
In the current context, with the uncertainty caused by a pandemic, the world needs to disconnect to reconnect, to rise, to renew itself
ASICS: Mental Movement Can Be Measured
In a previous study of the brand, in which a group of elite athletes such as the Olympic runner and European triathlon champion Beth Potter, and also amateur athletes participated, it was found that after some physical activity, everyday athletes experienced a well-being overall emotional, with an improvement of up to 29% in your ability to cope with stress and an increase of up to 18% in your relaxation levels.
In addition, their negative emotions, such as frustration, decreased significantly (up to 135%) and they were up to 28% less likely to make hasty decisions and react negatively to challenges or upset states. Athletes’ cognitive performance also increased after sport. Interestingly, both the elevation of emotional and cognitive status were higher among amateur athletes than among elite athletes.
“It is impossible to overstate the importance of the impact that sport and exercise have on our minds. It is absolutely vital that people move their body regularly to experience those cognitive and emotional benefits that are so important to themselves. There has never been a more conducive context to take advantage of the movement than this one we are experiencing ”, explains Dr. Brendon Stubbs, researcher at King’s College London and responsible for the study.
#SunriseMind: ASICS latest initiative to encourage people to move during sunrise
Whoever longed for the arrival of that morning of May 2, 2020, the beginning of the de-escalation, to be able to set foot on the street or the mountain again, to take a deep breath and put their arms out of the way while taking powerful strides of freedom, will know that the sunrises they activate us and make us feel positive and then the day is done by itself.
ASICS ‘latest initiative, before presenting its mega-study, is “Helping people around the world feel better by encouraging them to move with us at sunrise and continue throughout the year,” according to Gary Raucher, EVP Categories, ASICS EMEA . Using something as significant as the rising of the sun as a symbol of hope, athletes, ambassadors and ASICS employees will go out for a workout at sunrise.
How to take part?
– Get up, go out and move at dawn running, walking or participating in any sport or activity.
– Get a Sunrise Selfi and upload it to Instagram, Facebook or Twitter with the hashtag #SunriseMind.
– For every #SunriseMind image shared, ASICS will make a donation to the Mind charity to fund research on the benefits of sport in our minds.
ASICS has also launched a special collection Sunrise Red designed for this action, with shoe models such as the GEL-NIMBUS ™ 23, the GEL-RESOLUTION ™ 8 and the GEL-QUANTUM 360 ™ 6, with striking colors to convey positivity and encourage us to move.
The founding philosophy of ASICS, that of “Sound mind, sound body ™”, coined by Mr. Onitsuka, is more relevant today than ever. Still dont you see it? Yes: ASICS is the acronym for Anima Sana In Corpore Sano.